In 1940, Italy declared war on France and Britain; Canada declared war on Italy.

In 1942, the Gestapo massacred 173 male residents of Lidice, Czechoslovakia, in retaliation for the killing of a Nazi official.

In 1946, Italy replaced its abolished monarchy with a republic.

In 1964, the Senate voted to limit further debate on a proposed civil rights bill, shutting off a filibuster by Southern states.

In 1967, the Middle East War ended as Israel and Syria agreed to observe a United Nations-mediated cease-fire.

In 1977, James Earl Ray, the convicted assassin of civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr., escaped from Brushy Mountain State Prison in Tennessee with six others; he was recaptured June 13th.

In 1978, "Affirmed" won the Belmont Stakes and with it, horse racing's Triple Crown.

Ten years ago: Scientists announced they had extracted genetic material from the preserved remains of an insect that had lived when dinosaurs roamed the Earth.

Five years ago: A jury in Jacksonville, Fla. ordered Brown and Williamson Tobacco Corporation to pay nearly one million dollars to the family of Roland Maddox, who had died after smoking Lucky Strikes for almost 50 years. However, a Florida appeals court later overturned the verdict.

One year ago: Organized crime figure John Gotti died at a prison hospital in Missouri at age 61.